5 Easy Ways to Avoid Workplace Accidents
Safety at a workplace should be a high priority, no matter the field. Every workplace has occupational hazards, even if it doesn’t seem like it on the surface. Everyone at a job site should take safety seriously.
An employee who practices safety measures is less likely to have their lives altered by a workplace accident. Meanwhile, it’s also in the employer’s best interest to maintain a safe workplace. By doing so, employers can avoid possible liability in a personal injury case brought by an employee, vendor, or contractor with the help of a personal injury lawyer in San Gabriel like Vaziri Law.
Personal injury attorneys investigate workplace safety measures and help their clients obtain the compensation they deserve for their injuries. For an employer, this means facing insurance claims, increasing workers’ compensation premiums, and disruptions in productivity.
Why Prevent Workplace Accidents?
Workplace injuries can cause serious physical and psychological damage to an employee. The injured employee may need time to recover from their injuries or potential surgeries and undergo a rehabilitation period. Workplace injuries can often result in reduced quality of life and delayed returns to work.
Though workers’ compensation is a major way employers can avoid hefty legal battles, in some cases, an employee can also potentially file a personal injury claim against an employer, coworker, vendor, or contractor for gross negligence. This leads to an investigation into the workplace’s safety measures and policies. It can also lead to disruptions in a company’s operations, which can affect profits and overall productivity.
If a company is found to be negligent in their safety practices, they can be held liable for damages and may even be forced to pay punitive damages as a penalty. This is additional money they will be forced to pay on top of the employees’ compensation. Though rare, punitive damages can be ordered for cases where the defendant was particularly malicious or negligent.
Most Common Workplace Accidents
Despite an employer and employee’s best efforts, not all accidents can be avoided. Accidents do happen to the most well-meaning folks, and sometimes dangers aren’t made apparent until after they happen. The following are some common workplace accidents.
Slips and Falls
In a hurry, sometimes people slip on wet floors or trip over materials in the workplace. It happens; however, when carrying heavy equipment, or if walking on a dangerous surface like a scaffold, it can lead to a dire injury. If someone is working on a roof and they fall, that can lead to serious injury if they aren’t wearing the proper safety equipment.
Repetitive Strain Injuries
Constantly bending down to pick up heavy items can lead to various back, leg, arm, and neck issues. Sitting at a computer and constantly typing for hours on end without taking breaks to stretch or not using wrist rests can also exacerbate carpal tunnel or other hand injuries. Poor posture for lifting or sitting can also lead to health problems in the future.
Being Struck by Falling Objects
If something falls from a shelf or an elevated area and hits a worker below, it can cause a brain injury. This is common in construction sites, warehouses, and manufacturing plants. However, this can happen anywhere if there are improperly stacked items or overloaded shelves.
How to Avoid Accidents
While all accidents can’t be avoided, the chances of them happening can be significantly minimized through the adoption of a few methods. Training employees on proper safety procedures can also help employers avoid an investigation from a personal injury lawyer in San Gabriel.
Conduct Regular Risk Assessment
Regular inspections can help employers catch potential dangers before they occur. Training employees on workplace hazards and safety procedures can let employees know what to keep an eye on. By providing training, employees can also help document and report oddities and changes in equipment and the overall area.
This makes management aware of changes in the vicinity and allows them to make repairs sooner rather than later.
Keep Workspaces Organized and Clean
A part of any workplace is to keep communal spaces organized and clean. Having equipment or materials lying around haphazardly can cause people to fall. If they’re also carrying something when they fall, the employee runs the risk of obtaining a serious injury.
Putting up signs informing employees of wet floors, obstructions, and other changes in the area can go a long way in helping others navigate the work floor without running into avoidable danger. Everything should have its own place away from walkable zones.
Invest in Ergonomic Workspace
Not all injuries come from physical dangers such as slips and falls. Others come from repetitive tasks such as heavy lifting, intensive keying, and overexertion. Workplaces advise their employees to adopt safe practices to lessen the stress these tasks have on the body.
This can mean buying ergonomic chairs and offering wrist cushions for the people who do intensive typing. Encouraging typists to take time to stretch their hands and move around can also help mitigate the damage.
For manual labor employees, it’s encouraged to use support belts to help employees safely lift heavy items. It’s also encouraged to take breaks and rest the body to avoid over exertion. Constantly overexerting one’s body on the job can increase the chances of injury.
Place Safety Signs and Visible Reminders
In the constant coming and going from workstation to workstation, employees can forget about safety procedures in certain areas. For example, forgetting to put on glasses or gloves in certain areas can result in burns, cuts from shrapnel, or other safety worries. Signs placed in visible areas can help remind employees of what they need to safely navigate through an area. Having warning signs of potential dangers can also help keep employees informed of the potential risks they run by entering an area without protection.
Train Employees and Provide Proper Work Equipment
Training employees in how to properly use equipment and ensuring only trained employees can use certain equipment can also go a long way in preventing injuries. Training employees to safely use and dispose of certain substances can also prevent a potential toxic waste outbreak as well as improper usage of dangerous chemicals. Chemical exposure is an often overlooked issue in workplaces. Make sure you provide proper PPE to those who are dealing with toxic fumes or dangerous chemicals.
What Happens If There’s an Injury?
If an injury occurs, it’s important to check if the injured party is okay. Call a supervisor and report the injury. Try to obtain photo and video evidence of the scene at the time of the injury or have a trusted colleague do it.
File an accident report as soon as possible. The more time someone waits between an accident and filing a report, the more likely the person is to forget important details about the incident.
What’s Needed to Prove an Injury Happened?
Evidence is needed to prove the injury in question happened at work. The more paperwork gives an official timeframe, the better. It also helps to have documentation that states the injury happened on the clock.
What if a Lawyer Gets Involved?
If the injured party chooses to seek the advice of a personal injury lawyer in San Gabriel, the attorney will need more evidence to determine negligence. California is a state that practices comparative negligence. This means that all parties involved in an accident can share liability. Presenting evidence that documents the case shows who holds what percentage of fault.
Evidence to Present for a Personal Injury Case
To file a workplace injury claim, the injured party needs key evidence to make a case. More evidence doesn’t always mean the chances of winning are high, but it does help give attorneys a clearer picture of the circumstances surrounding a case. Some pieces of evidence are absolutely necessary to present to an attorney. These include:
Accident Report
Not filing a report with the employer after an accident is a surefire way to make an otherwise slam-duck case more difficult. It’s important to submit an accident claim as soon as possible. This helps the injured party write down the information relating to the accident while it’s fresh in their minds, and it also solidifies the timeframe in which the accident occurred.
Filing a report also makes the employer and their supervisors aware there’s been an incident that needs to be addressed. Make sure to receive confirmation that the appropriate parties received the report and get a copy of it as well.
Photos
Employers will typically do their own investigation into a workplace accident. It’s in an employee’s best interest to also take some photos for their own records.
Taking photos of the accident scene is often necessary in an accident of any kind. In a workplace accident, taking photos can help attorneys recreate the scene using the information provided in the photos.
Videos
Just like photos, videos can also be a great help in reconstructing the scene. Try to obtain surveillance videos from the scene at any and all angles possible. Sometimes, important information can be gleaned from other perspectives.
Witness Statements
Other perspectives can be a great help not only in video, but with eyewitness testimony. If there was anyone else around when the injury occurred, ask if they could be listed as a witness. An eyewitness can offer a different perspective that cannot be seen on video or can offer additional information that the injured party or employer may not be privy to.
Memos, Messages, E-mails
Keeping a record of any official memos, documents, emails, or other written communications can be key pieces of information, especially if the result of an accident was an employer’s refusal to adhere to safety standards.
Doctor’s Notes
After an accident, it’s recommended to visit a doctor. Not all injuries will manifest immediately after an injury, but in the case of a hidden injury, a doctor may be able to catch it before it becomes a worsening problem. If the employee suffered a brain injury, it’s doubly important to get checked out.
After the visit, obtain a record of the visit listing the doctor’s findings. If the doctor had the patient undergo an MRI, X-rays, or other tests, get a record of those as well.
How to Prove Negligence
In California, negligence is proven through duty of care. On the road, drivers are tasked with driving safely to ensure the safety of pedestrians and others on the road. At the workplace, the employer must ensure the safety of its workers while they are on the clock.
Every place of employment has different safety needs, but the important part is to make sure all employees know how to safely handle equipment they regularly work with and where the PPE they need is. They also must be made aware of any potential hazards in the area and how to protect themselves from becoming injured.
A failure on the employer’s part can lead an employee to injure themselves and can lead to a personal injury case against them for negligence.
What Does Compensation Look Like?
Compensation in a personal injury case comes in the form of three key damages: economic, non-economic, and punitive.
Economic Damages
These damages relate to financial losses that have set values attached to them. This usually entails medical costs, lost wages, home renovations, and any other costs related to healing the injury or loss of income due to the injury. Ideally, economic damages include both the short-term and long-term needs associated with an injury, such as physical therapy, mobility devices, and even lost opportunities due to the injury.
Non-Economic Damages
These damages relate to the pain and suffering someone endures as a result of an accident. There is no set value for pain, the loss of companionship, or someone’s quality of life. However, the courts can try to recognize an emotionally difficult period of time through compensation. These damages are compensated using either the per diem method or the multiplier method.
- Per Diem Method: This method determines a daily rate (usually the employee’s daily wage), and it’s multiplied by the number of days the victim is expected to be in pain and suffering due to the injury.
- Multiplier Method: This method multiplies overall damages between the numbers of 1.5 to 5, depending on the severity of the injury.
Punitive Damages
If an investigation determines that an employee’s injuries were a direct result of the company’s inexcusable negligence, the company may be required to pay a penalty. These punitive damages will then be awarded to the employee as an additional sum of money.
Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help Injured Workers
Workplace safety is important, which is why safety measures are always recommended. Although employees and employers may do their best to maintain a safe workplace, accidents may still occur. Having the necessary evidence after an accident can make a meeting with a personal injury attorney much smoother and jumpstart the legal fight for compensation if negligence was involved.
